Excavating the Great Aztec Temple: Achievements and Perspectives

Lecture

The Templo Mayor was the tallest structure in the ceremonial precinct of the ancient Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, located in what is now Mexico City.

The Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology presents the illustrated talk, "Excavating the Great Aztec Temple: Achievements and Perspectives'" by Eduardo Matos Moctezuma on Thursday, April 14, 2011 at Harvard's Geological Lecture Hall (24 Oxford St.).The lecture will be in Spanish with English translation. A public reception will follow at the Peabody Museum.

For 30 years, the internationally renowned archaeologist Eduardo Matos Moctezuma directed the monumental excavation of the Great Temple. He will both summarize the major discoveries during the project and illustrate the most recent finds in downtown Mexico City. Under his leadership, Mexican archaeology achieved new levels of excellence in the ways they deciphered the symbolism and meanings of thousands of artifacts uncovered at the Great Temple. They found colossal statues, painted vessels, superimposed pyramids, animal and human sacrifices as well as precious miniatures. Matos Moctezuma will also interpret the most recent major discoveries of the colossal monolith of the Earth Goddess Tlaltecuhtli and the rich offerings surrounding her image, as featured in the November 2010 National Geographic.